Tom Aspinall wants first title defence against rival who ‘ducked’ him: ‘I was chasing that fight’

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Tom Aspinall has moved past Jon Jones and is now focused on a long-discussed fight against one of the UFC’s top heavyweights.

The heavyweight division went 19 months without an undisputed champion, and not because Jones and Aspinall finally met in the cage.

Instead, Dana White announced Jones’ retirement, promoting Aspinall to undisputed champion and freeing him to face new challengers.

And while nothing is set yet, one matchup is already starting to gain serious momentum.

Tom Aspinall excited to finally face Ciryl Gane

With Jones gone, attention quickly shifted to who would challenge Aspinall nearly a year after his win over Curtis Blaydes. Three names emerged: Ciryl Gane, Jailton Almeida, and Alexander Volkov. Gane, the former interim champion from France, is the frontrunner.

Aspinall has wanted to face Gane for years, calling him out multiple times in the past, and he hasn’t forgotten the lack of response.

“I’ve actually fought a lot of the top 10,” Aspinall said on the Diary of a CEO podcast. “One of the guys I’ve not fought is Ciryl Gane, a French guy.

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“I was actually chasing that fight a few times before. He was ducking and diving around himself a little bit. He is due a little bit of a beating off me. I look forward to that.

“There’s a couple more guys down the rankings, a Brazilian guy, Jailton Almeida, I’ve not fought,” Aspinall added. “There’s a guy I’ve already beaten called Alexander Volkov who’s doing really well for himself as well.”

Ciryl Gane says Tom Aspinall fight talks have started

Fuel was added to the fire recently when Gane commented on the potential matchup during an appearance on UFC Unfiltered. He revealed that discussions have already begun between his management and the UFC.

“My manager talked to the matchmaking, with Hunter (Campbell). I know they’re working on it this week, and we can keep in touch,” Gane said.

“Nothing is fixed yet, we’re just waiting for more discussions and maybe a location and date. We are really confident of this fight happening.”

That news won’t sit well with Volkov, who many fans felt deserved the win over Gane when they fought at UFC 310 last December. However, with momentum building behind the Gane bout, it seems Aspinall might finally get the fight he’s been chasing.